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This "Shazam!" (Captain marvel from here on out) sculpt actually includes a surprising amount of unique pieces. His feet and boots are new and include a great detail with stitches running up the middle, much like you'll see in the comics. His wrists are also new and even his chestpiece is all his own with the big flap across the side and a button to fasten it. I'm actually a little surprised we got this detail on the chest, and I applaud Mattel for not cutting any corners on this classic character. His cape is particularly well molded, hanging off to the side very stylishly with natural folds, a carved border, and protruding string decorations too. He's actually quite detailed despite his simplicity in design with cloth folds in his belt and around his hips, even veins showing on his hands. His musculature is accurate and looks heroic without being ridiculous. The only problem with his body sculpt is an odd shaped right shoulder that seems much more angular than the standard DCUC shoulders, although it's not a big issue because the other shoulder is hidden under the cape, so any discrepancies disappear. I'm a little torn on this head sculpt. I want to like it but I can't help thinking he has a sly, almost evil grin instead of the big goofy smile you'd expect. From a technical standpoint it's perfect, crisp curves and very tight details.
Sculpt Score: 9 / 10
First and foremost, Captain Marvel features great color choices. This red is the absolute perfect shade, and it's hard to make it look bad in photos. The yellow is equally vibrant, offering a good contrast that pulls in the eyes. I like the gold accents on his cape and wrists. Some people might think it's wrong when paired with the yellow, but I'm a fan of this color design. The gold is shiny without looking too metallic and the strings on his cape are a cool orange. The applications are pretty clean, except for a few trouble spots. His chest emblem is super clean and the boot cuffs are very straight under his red calves. The trouble includes some red migrating onto his gold wristbands and a sloppy gold border on his cape. The cape decorations were a little lazily done as well. Marvel has an ugly red brush-effect on the sides of his boots with which I'm not totally sure they were trying to accomplish. His face looks almost perfect with clean lines for his eyes, eyebrows, hairline, and mouth. The colors are good and bring out all the details. I think the "eye glimmer" white spot on his eyes is a little too big though. The blue in his hair may be a "hair" (forgive me) too strong too. Overall this is a solid paint job with just a few trouble spots.
Paint Score: 8 / 10
Captain Marvel is a character with a lot of history and a fantastically fun backstory. A kid becoming a superhero with one word is like a dream come true and that whimsical element comes out in this figure. His vibrant design and iconic imagery make him a strong edition to any display and using his multitude of superpowers will be fun in all your play sessions. He has great articulation to help both posing and play too. It would be nice to see some sort of accessory or action feature to improve this category's score, but the only natural thing I can think of is a Billy Batson pack in, which actually isn't a bad idea. With his great exposure in JLU and continually improving (although confusing) stature in DC Comics I think Captain Marvel is going to prove a fun figure for a lot of different people. The only thing holding him back might be his totally classic look and feel, which isn't exactly dynamic or "dark" enough for these modern times.
Fun Score: 7 / 10
At just under $12, I really can't complain about the price of this figure. He's average sized for a 6" figure, nothing outstandingly huge, but definitely not too small either. There are a lot of unique molds being used here too, so it doesn't feel like Mattel has skimped. He feels durable in your hands, like he would last through numerous play sessions and nothing was broken out of the package. Captain Marvel also exudes high production values with a very crisp sculpt and generally high quality paint in a mass market setting. Couple those advantages with a big chunk of a Collect & Connect figure that's basically included "for free" and it all adds up to strong value. I would've liked to see some sort of accessory to push the envelope a little further, but he's still a good deal if you're a fan of the line or just the Marvel family. The real question when considering value is what you're going to be doing with the figure, and with Captain Marvel, he's going to add to any display or make a fun toy for play for a long time to come, so he may not be as valuable as a day's worth of food, but in the realm of the action figure world, it's $12 well spent.
Value Score: 9 / 10
Summary
9 - Great detail work that could've been ignored, they didn't cut corners, stylish body, accurate proportions and muscles, head is good technically but the expression is a little off.
8 - Some good applications, some bad, face looks good, crisp details where they matter, amazing color choices, weird red paint on boots.
9 - Quite a bit of articulation, but not a perfect amount, looks good with sculpt save for one spot, worked smoothly, full ranges of movement except for that same spot.
7 - Character might be corny to some, great story and background, good articulation model, easy to pose and play with, no accessory or action feature.
9 - Reasonably priced and sized figure, high production values, feels sturdy, includes C&C piece, unique sculpt usage.
